I bought a Clearwater II at the Orvis, Manchester store a few weeks ago. No one ther was certain about anything related to the "new" Clearwater, including what it would be, or how soon it would be available.

I actually emailed Orvis, as I had not seen any release date. and this is what they responded with:

"Thank you for your email. The new Clearwater rod is going to be a lot more bang for your buck. It will have all new profiles and tapers, taken directly from the Helios model, while staying at the same low price. We do not have an exact date, but tentatively they are due to be released in the Spring of 2012."